Providing appropriate enrichment for pigs addresses their high behavioral motivation for rooting, manipulation, and exploration. Evidence-based enrichment implementation reduces aggression, tail biting, and stereotypies.
Pig enrichment is among the best-evidenced welfare interventions in farm animal science. The behavioral need to root is so fundamental that straw provision — which allows rooting expression — reduces multiple other welfare problems simultaneously: tail biting, aggression, and stereotypic behavior. The EU regulatory requirement for enrichment reflects this strong evidence base. Despite the regulation, compliance is variable and enforcement limited. Consumer demand for welfare-certified pork from enriched environments provides a market incentive that supplements regulatory compliance.